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By Lizzy Chirkpi
Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has accused the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of bias and political persecution, calling for his immediate recusal from an investigation involving him.
In a statement issued on Monday by his spokesman, Muhammad Doka, Malami alleged that the probe was driven by “personal vendetta” and linked to his recent defection to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
He accused the anti-graft agency of illegal detention, media trial and abuse of due process, insisting that the investigation was motivated not by law enforcement objectives but by longstanding animosity within the EFCC leadership.
“I have been clearly prejudged and cannot receive a fair, objective or lawful investigation under the current leadership of the EFCC,” Malami stated.
The former minister traced the alleged bias to his time as Attorney-General, when the Federal Government set up the Justice Ayo Salami Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate allegations of corruption and abuse of office within the EFCC. He noted that the current EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, served as Secretary to the commission and that the Salami Report, now in the public domain, contained adverse findings against him.
According to Malami, “The present investigation bears all the hallmarks of retaliatory persecution motivated by personal vengeance.”
On this basis, he formally demanded that the EFCC Chairman step aside from the matter and urged the Attorney-General of the Federation, as the nation’s Chief Law Officer, to intervene.
“To restore credibility and public confidence, another appropriate law enforcement agency must handle this matter,” he said, warning that failure to act could result in “serious institutional damage.”
Malami further demanded either his immediate arraignment before a court of competent jurisdiction or his release within 24 hours, citing Sections 35(3), (4) and (5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). He stressed that only a court, “not a politically compromised agency,” could lawfully and credibly determine the case.
He also raised concerns over what he described as the EFCC’s attempt to rely on individuals convicted by foreign courts and currently serving prison sentences abroad as potential witnesses.
Describing the move as “desperate, scandalous and corrosive to the integrity of Nigeria’s criminal justice system,” Malami argued that such persons should ordinarily be subjects of extradition, not prosecution witnesses.
The statement added that Malami’s legal team has taken steps to protect his rights, including requests for Certified True Copies of the petitions that triggered the investigation, as well as the EFCC’s investigation report, to enable him prepare an effective defence.
“Let it be stated clearly: I seek no political settlement or inducement,” Malami said. “My singular objective is to clear my name openly and transparently before a court of competent jurisdiction. Nigeria must not become a republic where anti-corruption agencies are tools of political intimidation. The law must remain supreme above politics, above power and above persons.”